What Now My Love?
by charlibubble
Summary: Sinatra inspired Modges as an antidote to the Greg/Morgan cuteness of 'It was a Very Good Year' Not really spoiling anything so read and review! x


**A/N: What can I say? We all Love Ol' Blue Eyes and the super cuteness of Greg and Morgan in last night episode left me feeling rather numb... therefore I have indulged :) Hope y'all enjoy xxx**

Morgan loitered in the doorway of the locker room, watching Hodges absent mindedly dancing around with his eyes closed and headphones firmly in place shutting out the outside world. A smile found its way to her lips and she stepped across the room, taking one of the ear pieces and hovering it around her ear.

'_Strangers in the Night_' filled her ears, its lilting tones transporting her to another time altogether filled with romance and dancing in glamorous casino's filled with Vegas' most wanted.

"Not you too!" She teased, handing a startled looking Hodges the earpiece as she opened her own locker and retrieved her jacket.

He quickly removed his ipod, stashing it in his inside pocket before turning to face her defiantly.

"I'll have you know Mr Sinatra is a hero of mine" He explained, raising his eyebrows.

"Really?" Morgan responded, surprised. "I didn't have you pegged as a rat packer"

"There's a lot about me you don't know Miss Brody" He grinned.

With that statement he exited the room without a backwards glance, leaving her frowning at the space he had once occupied. Hodges liked to claim he was an enigma but she saw through his façade. He wasn't as complicated as he liked to imply. She suspected he knew as much about Sinatra as she did.

"I could use your help actually" She called, realising that she had an ally who knew Vegas a lot better than she did. She went running after him, coming to a halt in the hallway in front of him. This plan could have two outcomes, both of which would benefit her. Either Hodges would prove himself as a Frank Sinatra genius and point her in the direction of a store with the record she's looking for or he would humiliate himself and she would have teasing ammunition for life.

"You want my help? with what?" He questioned, turning on his heel to continue his retreat out of the lab. The small smile that curled the corners of his mouth and softened his eyes didn't go unnoticed.

"I...I need to find something" She explained with a nervy half-smile. "A record"

Morgan jogged to catch up with him, sliding her arm through his as he had expected. They stepped outside, glancing around at the rapidly emptying parking lot and the sun as it hung low in the sky.

"By Ol' Blue eyes himself?" He remarked, averting his gaze as she nodded enthusiastically. Hodges dramatically tapped his way down the steps and reached out his hand to her "_Come... fly with me_" He quipped, obviously very pleased with his link.

"Oh very clever" She deadpanned "Will you help me or not? I don't know Vegas that well..."

"Ahh..._ L.A is your lady_" He grinned, earning himself a slap on the arm. "Vegas is more _My Kind of Town_"

"Ok. You can stop it now" She rolled her eyes as he rubbed his arm and exaggerated his injury. They naturally strode to her car, as they often did after work, she always seemed to drive. Hodges, while able to drive, proffered to be an annoying passenger commenting on everything they passed in his usual sarcastic and judgemental tone.

"I'm sorry...I must just _get a kick out of you_" He muttered, already flinching from her as she glared at him across the roof of the car.

"_For once in your life_ you should bite your tongue" Morgan retaliated, sliding into her seat with a smirk.

"Touche!" Hodges nodded "_The lady is a tramp!_"

"Watch it David... I know how to hide a body" She remarked, following the flow of traffic towards downtown.

"Ahh _that's life_" He shrugged, smiling widely in her direction. "What makes you think I know where to find this record anyway?"

"I don't know... I figured maybe you were the type of person who collected...vintage stuff" She stumbled over her words hoping not to offend him.

She was relatively sure she had spotted a record collection the last time she had been in his apartment but the presence of her father and his mother often put a shadow of embarrassment over her memories.

"And _they can't take that away from me_" He stated victoriously.

Hodges directed her to a small dusty record store on a back street. It was a place she would never have gone to unaccompanied, that's if she could even have found it on her own. The store stood on the corner of an almost entirely abandoned street. The economic recession had not been kind to the less touristy area's of the city and yet this store stood strong and proud in the backdrop of abandonment.

A bell sounded as they cautiously stepped through the door, announcing their arrival like a fanfare. A middle-aged rocker shifted in his seat, eyeing them suspiciously before simply repositioning his hat and returning to his mid-morning snooze. Morgan quirked an eyebrow at Hodges that only earned a shrug in response as they split up to peruse the massive selection of records filling the huge wooden boxes in front of them.

Morgan flicked through the many tattered sleeves in front of her. Her fingers floating through titles by artists from Dolly Parton to Michael Jackson. Her eyes gravitated towards Hodges directly in front of him, a slight frown furrowing his brow.

"Didn't you say this record was rare?" He questioned, finally meeting her gaze.

"Yeah... there were only 1,000 pressed" She smiled, feeling suddenly that she had possibly been naïve in assuming she could find such a rare record in a backstreet store in Las Vegas.

Hodges didn't respond. He simply shrugged and returned to his search, ignoring her prolonged stare. For a long time they were silent, scanning through the records one at a time until Morgan felt like her eyeballs were drier than the Nevadan desert.

"It's not here" She sighed, the disappointment evident in her voice.

"_Dry your eye_s" He smirked, his eyes fixed on the records in front of him "We'll find it"

Morgan smiled softly, grateful for his dedication and optimism. With a nudge of her head towards the door they left and Hodges dutifully directed her to another store.

Despite their determination and a list of record stores as long as her arm Morgan still managed to go home empty-handed. The record she was looking for wasn't just a rare find, it was an almost impossible find.

The next day she trudged into work with a heavy heart, already picturing the sadness she had already seen in Greg's eyes. He had been a great friend to her in the time she had been in Vegas and she wanted to repay the favour somehow. He rarely opened up about his personal life, in fact she had assumed he probably didn't have one since he was so guarded about it but she was beginning to understand that Greg was simply scared of letting his guard down. He had been hurt too many times already. She knew too well how that felt, and how easy it could be to retreat from life and hide in the shadows.

"Morgan!" His voice broke through her thoughts, Hodges smiling face coming into view through the glass walls of the lab.

"Hi, sorry... for wasting your time yesterday" She muttered.

He was already shaking his head, holding something behind his back.

"It's ok... I had fun!" He confessed "I have a surprise for you"

Morgan frowned, attempting to see what he was holding and unable to fight the smile playing on her lips.

"What is it?" She smiled.

"Oh... I think we need to do this _My way_" He bowed his head a little, waiting for her to catch up with the theme.

"Just tell me... " She attempted but soon realised he would not be forthcoming with the information With a low sigh she relented. "or we will be_ strangers in the night_?"

"Ahh that was _something stupid_... but it'll have to do" He revealed the record in his hand with a flourish. Morgan beamed with delight, gratefully receiving it and wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

"How did you find it?" She cried, obviously overjoyed by his find.

He simply shrugged, enjoying her excitement and awe in the few moments of solitude they were offered. She thanked him kindly before leaving the room with a definite bounce in her step. Sara lingered in the background, having watched the exchange with some curiosity.

"That's a rare record... you don't just find them laying around" She remarked, pretending to be interested in the results on the chart in her hands.

"You do when you already own one" He shrugged.

"You gave her one from your personal collection?" Sara raised her eyebrows in surprise, glancing at Hodges as he stood in the very same spot he had done from the moment she had entered the room "That's impressive"

"What can I say?" He shrugged "_No love, No nothin_'"


End file.
